Amerigo Vespucci Biography

Amerigo Vespucci was an Italian explorer and navigator after whom the Americas were named. He was the first person who demonstrated to the world that Brazil and the West Indies were not a part of Asia’s eastern outskirts as was generally believed in the 15th century. Based on his extensive navigation and explorations, he stated that the newly discovered lands constituted an entirely separate landmass hitherto unknown to the Europeans. Initially referred to as the “New world”, the super-continent was later named “America” in the honor of this great explorer. Born into a prominent family in Florence, Italy, he received a humanistic education from his paternal uncle, a Dominican friar named Giorgio Antonio Vespucci. He embarked on a career as a merchant upon growing up and found employment as a clerk at the Florentine commercial house of Medici. He was once sent by his employer on a trip to France and he became fascinated with the concepts of travelling and exploring. Eventually he moved to Spain and became an explorer when he was in his 40s. Initially he sailed under the Spanish flag but was later on invited by the king of Portugal to participate in voyages. During these voyages he discovered that the modern-day South America extended much further south than previously thought